Applying the lessons of Bangladesh disaster to other industries

I’m writing to wholly applaud your editorial on the slight costs to consumers if apparel products/services are made more sustainably — i.e., high ecological and human health performance. The lesson applies to thousands of products made around the world, including the United States — where safety rules are far less expensive to us all than recovering from Gulf oil blowouts or refinery fires. Prevention is nearly always much less expensive than the cure, especially regarding ecological and human health.

Governments in developing countries have too often participated in a “race to the bottom” of regulatory requirements to obtain jobs and foreign investment. If consumers, marketers/manufacturers and governments work closely together, consumers will have many choices with high-sustainability performance at very small increases in price, if any. Please continue to beat this drum — you are right on.

Christopher Juniper, Denver

This letter was published in the March 25 edition.

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The large retailers in the US and Europe have enough clout to require the clothing companies in Bangladesh to improve working conditions and pay their workers a little . the government there is too corrupt. Wages are only a very small fraction of the price of a garment, so the retailers could absorb the increase, or pass along a small price increase to the customers.

Dano2

That may be true, but several manuretailers are bailing anyway to chase the cheapest wage – best capitalist practices, if you will.

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